Is Chinese AI robot already studying at Tsinghua University? On June 1, the Department of Computer Science and Technology at Tsinghua University enrolled Chinese first original virtual student, Hua Zhibing. It is understood that Hua ZhiBing, whose face and voice are generated by AI models, has super high intelligence quotient and emotional quotient. Hua Zhibing can write poems, compose tunes and draw pictures, but also has a certain degree of reasoning and emotional exchange ability. The existence of Hua Zhibing is unprecedented. For China’s AI industry, the birth of Hua Zhibing is not only eye-catching, but also reflects that China’s AI technology has reached a very high level. Today, China’s strength in AI is strong enough, even compared to the United States.
In 2020, China’s AI market value reached $43.4 billion with a growth rate of 13.75%, already higher than the world average. Certainly, China compares favorably with other developed countries in terms of patents, for China has the most AI patent layouts in the world, slightly better than both the US and Japan. According to the data released in the 2020 China AI Development Report, the number of global AI patent applications exceeded 520 thousand in the past 10 years, of which China’s AI patent applications were 389571, accounting for 74.7% of the global total, 8.2 times more than the second-ranked U.S. applications. In terms of commercialization results, China is also doing better in application of AI compared to the US.
The U.S. has observed China’s strength on AI technology and has quite scruple about China. This year, at the U.S. National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), the U.S. Congress submitted a 756-page report, in which China has been mentioned for 608 times. The report mentions that China’s AI technology is accelerating its rise, and will overtake the U.S. and offset the U.S. technological advantage, further dominating AI global standards within 10 years. This report suggests that the US, Japan and other countries should take some measures against China’s development in AI, that is, to trip up China’s development in AI.
